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I always thought UK is a country where there is no actual social freedom, because of mass media culture...

On the other hand, Russians have got a very indulgent culture, despite of right-wing protectionism...

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    This is somewhat impossible to answer without a significantly less subjective definition of "socially freer". In Russia, you can't criticize Putin. In UK, you can't criticize Islamists or any protected minorities or women or poor. Everyone has their own freedoms and unfreedoms.
    – user4012
    Jun 26, 2014 at 20:41
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    In Russia, you are not free to be gay, but you are free to beat up any gay people. Sorry, but this question is definitely primarily opinion-based, because social freedom can not be objectively measured.
    – Philipp ♦
    Jun 27, 2014 at 7:57
  • What is social freedom? Can you please clarify?
    – Anixx
    Jul 2, 2014 at 19:13
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    Certain kinds of freedom, like those of the frontiersmen, are possible only in sparsely populated areas.
    – George Chen
    Jan 7, 2015 at 2:47

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There are quite a few social freedom indices that differ by methodology of calculation, freedom factors and comparison metrics.

An index published by Fraser Institute, for example, rates UK at #18 out of 123 countries, between Iceland and Slovakia, which sounds not that bad.

The same index rates Russia at #89 — straight between Benin, Malawi, Guinea-Bisau, and Kenya (where I sincerely think it belongs to).

The document contains a comprehensive list of data sources and describes its computation metrics so you can make sure that the calculation is accurate enough.

As per mass media "culture" in the Russia, I'm afraid it's rather a negative factor. Russian mass media are no longer independent since the first years of Putin's presidency. As far as I remember, the last independent media, NTV, has been seized by the regime at 2003. You may read more about how Russian mass media is influenced by the government here: Forbes, Radio Free Europe, Examiner: Russia's top 20 lies, Examiner: Russia's top 40 lies, and many more.

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    From paragraph 5 and onwards, your answer makes a very opinionated impression. We all have strong opinions about certain issues, and my personal opinion on Russia isn't much better than yours, but on stackexchange we should all try to be objective and stick to the facts instead of propagating our personal opinions.
    – Philipp ♦
    Jun 29, 2014 at 0:07
  • @Philipp Please feel free to submit your edits. I have attempted to use only facts and back them with credible references, but yes, some may consider them too strong, so any contribution would be appreciated.
    – Be Brave Be Like Ukraine
    Jun 29, 2014 at 0:15
  • I suggested an edit. I also removed the jokes. The first one wasn't really on-topic because Reagan was still dealing with the CCCP and the second didn't really contribute much on its own.
    – Philipp ♦
    Jun 29, 2014 at 0:21
  • @Philipp I appreciate your edit. In a spirit of SE, I would let the community accept or reject it. All four links from credible news agencies have the word "lie" (or "caught red-handed") in their title, so it is hard for me to understand why "lies" has turned into "is influenced", but again, maybe there is some logic; let the community decide. Thanks again.
    – Be Brave Be Like Ukraine
    Jun 29, 2014 at 0:36

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